A Good Mistake
by urbasic
Summary: Things take a big turn when Jackson and Ramona are left home alone.
1. Home Alone

**A/N: I've been thinking that Jackson and Ramona would be really good together, so I decided to write a fic for them!**

 **General Background Information: This is set during their senior year of high school, so they're around 17 years old. I thought it would be more appropriate for them to be a bit older. Also, Ramona dated Chad Brad Bradley (they broke up). This has not occurred on the show (at least as of right now), but for the purposes of this story, they did. Ramona's relationship with Popko is exactly the way it was in the show here (they dated but broke up because of what he said before she left for Japan). Jackson and Rocki were also in an "unlabeled" relationship for a while, but broke it off in the year prior to the story.**

 **Chapter Background Information: The adults (DJ, Stephanie, Kimmy, Jimmy, Fernando, etc.) are on an "Adults' Night Out," leaving Ramona and Jackson to babysit Tommy. Max is at a sleepover with one of his friends.**

 **That's about it, so enjoy the first chapter! And it's no biggie if you didn't read all that information/background regarding the story; you'll understand it just fine either way. I think that most things are explained (other than the Adults' Night Out thing, although I will be touching upon that in future chapters). Read and review!**

CHAPTER 1: HOME ALONE

"This is the first time they've ever let me run things alone at home!" Jackson exclaimed excitedly and proudly.

Ramona rolled her eyes, "You're not _really_ alone, Jackson. And you're not in charge, either. I'm pretty sure they know that out of the both of us, I'm the more responsible one. They _so_ wouldn't have left just you home alone to take care of Tommy. You probably would've messed things up the second they walked out the door."

Jackson shrugged his shoulders, "Well, they left us alone with no adults. I mean, I'm gonna be going to college in the fall! Shouldn't they trust me to take care of things when I'm alone?"

"I'm not sure anyone thinks you're gonna make it alone in college," Ramona half-joked.

Jackson rolled his eyes, "Whatever. I'm gonna put Tommy to sleep. It's already pretty late for him."

Ramona nodded her head, "Let me help you."

"No way!" he shook his head. " _The Jackman_ has got this under control. Tommy's my brother... I think I know how to get him to sleep."

"Fine, but I'm staying right here... just in case you ruin everything, which wouldn't be very surprising, to be honest."

He ignored her comment before picking Tommy up from where he was previously sitting on the floor, playing with a toy car. Carefully, he carried Tommy to the race-car styled bed in his bedroom.

"I don't wanna go to sleep!" Tommy whined. "Let's watch a movie!"

"Sorry, little bro. Mom told me you've gotta be in bed by now. We already let you stay up later than you should've," Jackson reminded him. "Close your eyes, buddy. Try to go to sleep. If you do, maybe I'll convince Mom to get you ice cream tomorrow. How does _that_ sound?"

"Ice cream?" Tommy echoed, grinning. "Promise?"

"Promise," Jackson nodded his head. He muttered under his breath, "Promise... to _try_."

Tommy smiled again, satisfied with the thought of getting ice cream tomorrow, then forced his eyes shut. He wasn't tired, but he'd try to sleep if it meant there would be ice cream tomorrow. When Jackson saw that Tommy's eyes were shut, he smiled proudly, smirking at Ramona. She thought he couldn't handle this on his own, but he could. He knew that he was capable.

The two of them left Tommy's room, switching off the lights and shutting the door so that Tommy could sleep.

"Not bad, but you really had to promise your brother ice cream to do it?" Ramona raised her eyebrows. "Most people wouldn't have made promises they don't know they can keep... and they'd opt for something easier like a bedtime story."

"Look, I'm sure my mom's gonna be cool with it. It's not like ice cream's that big of a deal!" Jackson told her. "Besides, Tommy's not a baby anymore. He's way too good for bedtime stories and baby things."

"Whatever," Ramona shrugged her shoulders. "What are we gonna do now?"

Jackson arched his eyebrows.

"Hmm... I dunno," he admitted. "When I thought about this night, I was so excited because I thought I'd be doing all this crazy stuff that I can't do when the adults are around. But now that we're actually here, I have no idea what I wanna do."

"Well, I guess I'm going to my room," Ramona excused herself, starting to turn around.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Jackson stopped her, grabbing her shoulder. "You're really just gonna ditch me like that? You know, 'your room' used to be 'my room.' It's only fair that you let me tag along."

Ramona rolled her eyes, "And why would you need to come to _my_ room, Jackson?"

"Because I don't wanna be all alone. Please!" Jackson begged. "Come on... Max is at a sleepover, so I can't spend my time annoying him."

"Since when was Max your only companion?" she scoffed. "Don't you have your weird squad of dweebs that you met in your middle school summer school? What about Rocki?"

Jackson pressed his lips together, "They're not gonna come over right now, okay? Please, Ramona?"

"Fine, but I'm kicking you out if you're annoying," she gave in.

Jackson grinned. The two of them walked toward Ramona's room, stepping inside. Before Ramona could even do anything, Jackson hopped on to her bed, stretching his legs, sighing of relaxation. Ramona rolled her eyes.

"Glad you're making yourself comfortable..." she said sarcastically. She walked to her closet, grabbing a pair of shorts and a tank top to change into. "I'm gonna go to to the bathroom to change since you're... invading my room tonight."

Jackson kept laying back, relaxing in her room while she was changing in the bathroom. When she returned, Jackson finally opened his eyes and looked at her. He swallowed hard.

"Are you wearing anything under that?"

She rolled her eyes, "No, doofus. This is what I was planning on going to sleep in, and I don't like wearing anything under to sleep. Is that gonna be a problem for you, 'cause you're the one who begged me to come here, remember?"

"I remember. And no, it's not a problem," he said, looking away quickly.

He really wasn't expecting her to come back in the room wearing extremely short shorts and a tank top with nothing under, her nipples lightly poking out. He wished he didn't notice how full her breasts were. He wished he didn't think she was so hot right now.

"So, now that you're here... what did you want to do?" she asked, sitting down on the bed.

Jackson grinned, "Anything! Pretend I'm one of your girl friends and this is one of your casual sleepovers that you have all the time. What would you do then?"

She blinked a few times, "Um... we'd probably watch a movie... or like, talk about boys... or play truth or dare or something-"

"Truth or dare!" Jackson exclaimed. "That'd be fun, wouldn't it? I've played that, too."

"Uh, yeah. Most people have," she said.

"Well, what do you think of playing it with me?"

"Fine, I mean... I'm interested in getting all the dirt about what went down between you and Rocki," Ramona smirked. "Truth or dare, Jackson?"

"Now that you said that, I'm going with dare first."

"All right. Then, I dare you to tell me what went down between you and Rocki," she said proudly.

Jackson rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Ramona? You wanna know _that_ badly?"

"Yes, I wanna know!" she exclaimed. "I mean, come on... you guys have known each other since your 8th grade summer school. You've liked her for a pretty long time, and you guys were sorta dating but nobody really knew what was going on. All I know is that she doesn't come over anymore, and that _has_ to mean that something happened."

He sighed, "Yeah, we're not exactly a thing anymore."

"And why not?"

"All you asked is _what went down_ , so that's what I'm gonna give you. She and I mutually decided that we're not gonna work out... for many reasons. And yeah, we were never officially dating because she told me she doesn't like labels... she didn't want the 'girlfriend' label. But it was basically a relationship; we decided not to see other people while we were 'hanging out' together."

Ramona nodded her head, "Well, seems like you really had it bad for her, huh?"

"Whatever," he shrugged his shoulders. "Isn't it your turn now? Truth or dare?"

"Truth," she replied.

"Why'd you and Chad Brad Bradley break up, anyway?"

Ramona shrugged, "Because he's a stupid jerkface."

Jackson raised his eyebrows, "Wow, that was a great answer. I know everything now."

"I don't know what you want me to say," she shrugged her shoulders. "There wasn't some _huge_ falling out between us. I broke up with him because I realized that he only cares about himself. But you know, it would've ended anyway 'cause he's in college now. I probably never should've fallen for him because when we first met, he was a jerk and tried to cut me from the dance team. I really need to stop falling for selfish guys like him. Remember Popko?"

"Of course I remember Popko," Jackson laughed, shaking his head. "Well, whatever Ramona... these guys suck. They didn't deserve you, anyway. You deserve someone who really cares about you and loves you... and you're gonna find that eventually."

Ramona bit her lip, trying to tear her eyes away from Jackson's. What the hell was going on right now? She was getting all these weird feelings for _Jackson Fuller_ , who was supposed to be like her annoying brother. But lately, she wasn't seeing him as an annoying brother at all...

She broke the silence by asking, "Truth or dare, Fuller?"

He smiled, "All right, all right... I'll give you the satisfaction of just picking truth."

"Thank you," she chuckled. "Since you were all dodgy when I asked about Rocki, now I want you to tell me _why_ you two decided that things just 'weren't gonna work out.'"

"I knew you were gonna ask that, so I'm not surprised," he said. But he bit his lip anyway. He was anticipating it, but he didn't want to say it aloud. Now that he thought about it, he should've come up with some other fake answer. Since he was on the spot now, he just couldn't think of a good lie. "You sure you wanna know?"

"Okay, now you _have_ to tell me because I'm extremely intrigued!" she told him. "Jackson!"

He sighed, turning to face the other direction so that he didn't have to be looking at her when he said it.

"Rocki got mad because she thought I had feelings for another girl," he confessed. "We weren't 'dating,' or so she claimed, but liking another girl is a big no-no for her."

"No girl wants their boyfriend to be thinking about other girls! This reminds me of when Popko wanted to be with other girls while I was away in Japan," Ramona shook her head bitterly. "Didn't you say that it was mutual? Why didn't you just tell her that it wasn't true?"

"Because she was right," he admitted. "I didn't wanna lie to her. I really did like her a lot before but I started to have feelings for somebody else and... that was that."

"You actually liked another girl!? _Jackson_!" Ramona cried.

"I'm sorry! But to be fair, I can't help how I feel about somebody else. And I think I did the right thing in agreeing that we should end things instead of trying to convince her that it was all in her head," he defended himself.

"Yeah, Rocki doesn't seem like the overly jealous type. I guess I should've known it's serious if she actually believed you liked another girl," Ramona reasoned. "Now, tell me more! Who's the girl that you liked, huh?"

Ramona couldn't help but feel a bit jealous herself. She, unlike Rocki, _was_ the jealous type. She got jealous when there was no reason to be jealous... maybe like right now. She had no right to be jealous. Jackson clearly wasn't her boyfriend and he clearly didn't think of her in a romantic way. He probably did see her as an annoying sibling.

"You're asking a lot of questions for one truth," Jackson raised his eyebrows.

"They're all tied together... you're not very good at giving a solid answer, so I have to ask follow-up questions," she told him.

"Well, I guess your question will have to wait until your next turn. Sorry!" he grinned.

"Come on," she pleaded, reaching over and grabbing his arm.

He tensed up a bit, glancing over at where she was holding his arm.

"I... um... I don't think that's a very good idea," he stammered.

"How bad can she be?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Trust me, she's not bad at all," he swallowed hard. "In fact, she's very, very good. And that's exactly the problem."

Ramona tilted her head to the side. Whoever this girl was, Jackson really seemed to like her. And Ramona wondered if maybe this was for the better. It probably wasn't a very good idea to get involved with Jackson Fuller. That would just make everything even more complicated in both of their lives. But it was still bothering her that Jackson was still into this girl, and probably had been into her for a long time, since he and Rocki ended last year.

"Look Jackson, I know I'm judgy sometimes, but I promise that I'm not gonna judge you this time," she told him. "You can tell me!"

Jackson turned to look right at her, hoping that she would just quit asking already, but it didn't seem like that was ever going to happen. He decided that maybe he should just man up and tell her who the girl was, as embarrassing as it was.

"Would you still wanna know so badly if you knew that the girl is you?"

Ramona's eyes widened.

"What?" she practically choked. " _Me_?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "You know what? Never mind. Please forget I even said that. Uh, truth or dare?"

"Truth, I guess," she replied absentmindedly, still trying to process what he had just said.

"Who do you like more: your mom or your dad?"

"I love them both equally, honestly," she shrugged. Then, she turned to look at Jackson with a serious expression on her face. "Jackson: truth or dare? And you better pick dare."

"My better judgment is _seriously_ telling me not to pick dare, but... then again, when do I ever listen to my better judgment?" he joked. "So... dare, then?"

"I dare you to kiss me," she suddenly said.

Jackson was startled. He almost fell off the bed right then and there, barely hanging on by clinging to the sheets to keep his balance. His eyes were wide, and all he could do was stare at Ramona. He had liked her for so long but he never thought he even had a shot with her because she was... _Ramona_. He wasn't very good with girls, clearly demonstrated with how he terribly handled pursuing a relationship with Lola... and also how he fell for another girl when he finally had something good with someone.

He could clearly remember how pissed off Rocki was when she first started suspecting that Jackson was into Ramona. She would glare at the two of them whenever they were talking. Finally, since she wasn't one to beat around the bush for too long, Rocki came right out and confronted him, asking him if he had feelings for Ramona. She apparently had noticed the way Jackson was looking at Ramona. And Jackson couldn't lie to her. He confessed that he had been feeling weird things for Ramona. Of course, Rocki punched him in the arm and cut him off completely, thus ending their "relationship."

Initially, Jackson had thought that with time, he would be able to get over Ramona completely. But he clearly overestimated his abilities... With Ramona living under the same roof as him, he had to see her a little bit too much, and that made it very hard for him to get over her. Instead, his feelings for her just kept growing stronger. And right now, he was so freaking attracted to her that he was afraid he would do something stupid to mess it up.

But now, Ramona was daring him to kiss her?

"Ramona..." he said in a warning tone.

"Are you actually hesitating when I just asked you to kiss me?" she asked, surprised.

He thought about it for a second before realizing he was finally getting what he had wanted for so long. Then, he sat up straight, putting his hands on Ramona's cheeks, then leaning in to press his lips against hers. It was a gentle, innocent kiss, and Jackson sure was glad that it happened.

"God, I've wanted to do that for _so_ long," Jackson confessed, his hands still on her cheeks.

Ramona swallowed hard.

"That... Oh my God," she panicked. "Oh my _God_."

"What? What is it?" he asked, freaking out with her.

"That felt _good_ ," she confessed. "That wasn't supposed to feel so _good_... so _right_."

Jackson grinned, "So, you're telling me that the big problem here is that you _liked_ kissing me? I'm certainly taking that as a win... just sayin'."

Ramona rolled her eyes, "Personally, I'm not too thrilled about this."

"Well, I am," he told her. "And I think you should be, too."

She couldn't help but smile a little bit, too. Just a few minutes ago, she was so worried because she thought that Jackson was crazy about some other girl... but things somehow turned around, and the girl he liked was her? It was all too much.

"I'm a little thrilled..." she admitted.

"And I'm gonna kiss you again."

He leaned back in, kissing her with much more force this time. She gripped his lower back and he cupped her cheeks as their lips moved in sync. He slowly started moving so that he was on top of her, their kisses becoming much less and less innocent than the first one. Ramona knew she might be pushing it too far, but her hands started snaking up Jackson's t-shirt, holding on to the hem of it, daring to pull it off. Then, Jackson started to realize that this _might_ be going somewhere, right? He couldn't think of any other reason as to why she would want to take his shirt off.

He was a bit worried. He and Rocki had never... done _that_. The worst it got was a make-out session. Neither of them ever dared to go further than that. He wasn't exactly experienced with this.

"Wait," he pulled back. "Ramona, I only ever imagined that I would get to do something like this with you, and I-I... I've been waiting for this moment for _so long_ , so... I don't want to mess everything up. Maybe I'm seriously misinterpreting everything, but... if this is going where I think it's going, I only want to do anything you want to do."

"Well, maybe I'm crazy, but..." she bit her lip. "I want this, Jackson. I want this with you."

"Oh God," his eyes widened. "Am I dreaming right now?"

She laughed, "No, no you are not dreaming."

Ramona kept going, reaching for the hem of Jackson's t-shirt, pulling it up until it was off his torso. She tossed his shirt to the ground. He leaned down, pressing his lips against Ramona's again, kissing her thoroughly. He moved his lips down to her neck, trailing kisses down it. He became more confident, his hands reaching for the hem of her tank top. He knew she was wearing nothing under that tank top, and he was freaking out on the inside. This was his _first time_. And it was with _Ramona Gibbler_.

"Wait!" he pulled back before they could go any further. "I don't have any... you know."

"You don't? I thought all guys had that with them at all times... you know, 'just in case,'" she chuckled. "I mean, one time Chad told me to get some cash from his wallet to buy our movie tickets and I found a bunch of them in there and I had no idea what to expect from him-"

"Um, I really don't want to be talking about your ex-boyfriend right now, to be honest," Jackson chuckled, scratching his head.

"Right, I'm sorry," Ramona bit her lip. "So... what are we gonna do? Should we stop?"

"No!" he cried. "No way! I think I have an idea."

"Yes?"

"My Aunt Stephanie probably has a bunch, so I'll just go down to her room in the basement and get one," Jackson said. "I overheard her talking to my mom about how she and Jimmy are 'doing it' all the time, so..."

"Ew," Ramona shuddered. "Why don't you just go get it already?"

Jackson nodded his head, "Right. Stay right here, okay? Don't move a muscle."

"Where would I go? It's my room..."

"Whatever!" he exclaimed as he ran out of her bedroom in only his shorts.

When he returned, he was glad to see that Ramona was still awake and present, waiting for him in her bed. He smiled, shutting the door and walking back over. He climbed on to the bed, feeling extremely nervous: how the hell was he supposed to have _sex_? He had no moves! Of course, this was almost every teenage boy's dream come true, and it was his, too, but now that he was actually here in the moment, he wasn't sure what to do. He just didn't want to mess this all up and disappoint her. What if he was terrible and she became repulsed by him? Then, there was nothing he could do because he was going to have to see her constantly, at least until they went to college.

"Jackson, are you okay?" Ramona asked, touching his chest to calm him down. She could feel his heart beating rapidly. "Jackson, it's okay... Calm down. It's just me."

"That's exactly _why_ this is so hard," he confessed.

There was a time where he saw her as the annoying girl next door, but now he saw her as perfect. Of course, she still knew how to annoy him really well and got under his skin easily, but he wouldn't want it any other way. That was one of the things he loved about her.

"You don't have to be scared," she assured him.

She put her hand on the back of his neck, pulling his head down so that she could kiss his lips. They kissed for a few seconds before he pulled back, holding the square package in his sweaty palms. He thought hard about his sex-ed class, putting the condom on the banana and all that... he could do this. This was supposed to be _good_.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked him. "It's okay if you don't... really."

"I do," he nodded his head. "I really do. I just... I don't want to mess up."

"Don't worry," she smiled.

He leaned back down, kissing her again. As they were kissing, he reached for the bottom of her tank top, ready to pull it over her head. He was _really_ about to see a girl naked, and she wasn't just some random woman on one of those "videos" he'd watch during his "private time."

This was the real thing.


	2. Guilt

**A/N: Hello, everyone! I'm back with the next chapter of the story. This time, we are taking off near where we left off last time! The chapter begins on the same night that Jackson and Ramona are home alone, except the "good mistake" has already been made. And now, the adults are arriving home from their "adults' night off." The previous chapter didn't really mention the adults' night off; it was just implied that Jackson and Ramona were home alone, but now it's going to be explicitly mentioned.**

CHAPTER 2: GUILT

Jackson was laying on his back. His whole body was sweaty. He was breathing heavily. His arms were by his sides. His eyes were wide, staring up at the ceiling of the bedroom. Then, he finally dared to look to his left: Ramona was laying next to him in the same position that he was in, seeming equally shaken by the previous events. He wasn't sure what to do now, since he didn't exactly have much experience with this kind of stuff. He was afraid that she was going to take it all back and say that she regretted it and that it should never have happened (and maybe she would be right about that, but he didn't want to hear it... he just wanted everything to be perfect).

The fact was on the table: he had just lost his virginity to Ramona Gibbler.

It was short and awkward, but he certainly didn't regret it, at least not yet. And he did enjoy it a lot, even if it was painfully weird at times. He couldn't speak for her about the enjoyment, though. Maybe she didn't like it at all. Maybe it wasn't what she was expecting sex to feel like.

Jackson had figured that it wasn't going to be anywhere near what he had seen in the "adult videos" he had watched, so he wasn't disappointed. And obviously he didn't have very good moves since it was his first time, but he figured it would get better in the future... _if_ there was even another chance this would happen with any girl, that was.

But as he was staring at the ceiling, he started to think about his mom... and that started to become _all_ he could think about. He was going to have to sit on a pretty huge secret. He knew his mom would flip out if she found out. It was already awkward when he had to have the sex talk, and that was back when his mom thought he didn't even have a _chance_ of having sex. He kept thinking about how sad his mom would be if she knew. He could already see it now: her crying endlessly because she was "losing her little boy." He didn't want to hurt his mom...

And Ramona was in a similar predicament. She loved _her_ mom so much, and they were supposed to tell each other everything. But it had been a lot easier when the things she told her mother were innocent, acceptable teenage secrets: her first kiss, for example. She doubted that her mother would be any bit pleased that she had her _first time_... and it probably wouldn't help that she did it with her mother's best friend's son. Kimmy Gibbler was an eccentric woman who knew how to have a good time, but Ramona knew that even she would be shaken by the revelation.

"M-maybe you should go back to your room now," Ramona finally spoke up. "You don't wanna be in here when the adults come back..."

"Of course not. You're right," he nodded his head. "I'll, um... I'll go now."

Ramona looked away as Jackson pulled the sheets off of himself, quickly climbing out of bed. He found his clothes on the floor, hurriedly sliding back into them before scurrying out the door. Once he was gone, Ramona sighed in relief. She pulled herself out of bed, re-dressed herself, then climbed back into bed.

Jackson swallowed hard as he went into his own bedroom. He got on to the bed, laying back, pulling the covers over his body, then staring back up the ceiling, again contemplating the issue.

* * *

"What a night!" Stephanie exclaimed, opening the door. "Thanks for being designated driver, Deej."

" _Somebody_ had to do it," DJ sighed. "I just wish that somebody wasn't me..."

"You know what? Next time, I'll do it," Stephanie smiled.

"No... you won't."

"Yeah, you're right. I won't."

DJ rolled her eyes, "It's already 1 AM? Time really flies when you go out, and I wasn't even drinking."

" _Hopefully_ that means that the kids are asleep," Stephanie wiggled her eyebrows, looking over at Jimmy, who smiled back at her.

"Oh, they better be," DJ said. "I should check up on them... especially Tommy. I have faith that everything went well because Ramona's here. If it were just Jackson, I wouldn't be so confident..."

Kimmy, Stephanie, and Jimmy laughed.

"Well, I'm going upstairs to see if they're sleeping, then I think I'm going to call it a night myself," DJ announced. "See you all tomorrow!" Before she left, she turned to Jimmy: "Wait, Jimmy... do you need me to walk you over to the old Gibbler house? I know it's not that far a walk, but it's late and you've... had a bit to drink."

Jimmy grinned, "Don't worry about it. I'll just be crashin' here with Steph-o."

DJ rolled her eyes, "Of course. Good night."

Kimmy and DJ both went upstairs. Kimmy went to Ramona's room, while DJ went to Tommy's room. She was relieved to see that Tommy was fast asleep, and clearly had been sleeping for quite a while now. She supposed that Jackson and Ramona actually took their babysitting job seriously, which made her very proud. Next, DJ went to Jackson's room. She was surprised to find that the lights were still on.

"Jackson?" DJ arched her eyebrows as she opened the door to her son's bedroom. "Hey, buddy... why are you still awake? Don't you know what time it is?"

"Mom, hey!" he widened his eyes. "Yeah, sorry... I just couldn't sleep yet, but I'm gonna now. How was your night out?"

"Um, pretty fun, but I kept worrying that something was going to go wrong at home," DJ sighed. "But it looks like I was wrong. You and Ramona clearly handled everything very well. I'm so proud of you, honey."

Jackson laughed nervously, "Yeah, we handled everything. You don't have to worry about me, Mom. I'm... seventeen."

DJ scoffed, "You're _only_ seventeen, sweetheart. You're still a little boy. But I'm glad that for the most part, you act your age. You're a good kid, Jackson."

He swallowed hard. Now was _really_ not a time where he wanted to hear his mother praising him for what a good boy he was... not when he did something that would totally break her heart and shatter her positive image of him. He had done a lot of crazy things that she got past, but he wasn't sure that this was one of those things.

"I'm starting to get tired, so... I'm gonna sleep," he announced.

"Okay. I'm tired, too. Is Ramona asleep?" DJ asked.

Panicking, Jackson replied quickly, "I dunno! How would I know? I don't know what she does!"

"Relax, it's not an interrogation," DJ laughed. "...unless something's up. Is everything okay?"

"Y-yeah, everything's fine. I guess I was just acting weird 'cause I'm... _super_ tired now," he told her. "Good night, Mom."

"All right. Night," she smiled. "Love you."

"Love you, too..."

* * *

"Mmm, I'm _so_ glad everyone's asleep right now," Stephanie said between a kiss with Jimmy. He nodded his head in agreement before leaning in and kissing her again.

The two of them continued kissing as they fell back on to the bed, with Stephanie on top of him. His hands searched her back for the zipper to her dress, which he slowly began to unzip. But before he unzipped it all the way, he pulled back from Stephanie's lips.

"Wait a sec!" he widened his eyes. "I don't... I don't have anything on me..."

"Don't even worry about it," she grinned. "I've got some in my drawer. You know, just in case..."

Jimmy grinned back at her, laying back on the bed while Stephanie got up. She opened the drawer to find that there were only two inside, although she had initially put three in there. She stared at the drawer for a moment, thinking back to see if she could remember ever using one of them, but she couldn't think of it. She only had these in here as a back-up in case Jimmy forgot...

"Everything okay, babe?" Jimmy asked, wondering why she was taking so long. "Jimmy needs his Steph-o!"

" _Steph-o_ is a little busy right now," she practically snapped. Her face softened, realizing she was unnecessarily being mean to him. She sighed, "How rude... of _me_. I'm sorry, Jimmy... I'm just... a little confused."

"No biggie, but what's goin' on?" he asked, sitting up straight. "Steph?"

She blinked a few times, "Last I can remember, I had three in here. And we haven't used any from my drawer, so..."

"... _so_?" he urged her to continue.

"Do you think one of the kids could have taken it?" Stephanie asked, worried.

"What? No way!" he shook his head. "Why would they do that?"

"Why do you _think_?" she tilted her head to the side. "Jackson and Ramona are teenagers now, so it's not completely wild to think that one of them took it. I highly doubt it was Max, and it certainly isn't Tommy, so... Jimmy, I'm so worried about this..."

"Hey, maybe you're jumping to conclusions," he tried to calm her down. "You don't _know_ that it was one of the kids. DJ and Kimmy live here, too."

"You're right," Stephanie smiled, nodding her head. "It was probably DJ or Kimmy! That makes way more sense."

"Yeah, it does," Jimmy grinned. "Now, can we get back to where _we_ were?"

Stephanie smiled, nodding her head. She sat down on the bed, leaning in to kiss Jimmy's lips. Their lips began moving together, Jimmy bringing his hands up to hold her cheeks. They started moving downward until they were back in the position they were in before, with Stephanie on top of Jimmy. They continued kissing for a bit, but then another thought came to Stephanie's head, so her body jolted upwards, disconnecting her lips from Jimmy's. She was now sitting up straight on the bed with panic in her eyes.

"Wait!" she cried. "I'm pretty sure that there were three in here this morning, Jimmy! I was going to bring one for when we went out tonight... you know, just in case... I decided against it, but I remember there being three, which means that whoever took it... had to have taken it _today_... well, technically last night, but you know what I mean, right?"

"Slow down, Steph," he said, sitting up straight, too. "We weren't out _all day_. Maybe something happened earlier in the day."

"But Steve and Fernando didn't come over until it was time to go, so I don't think it was DJ or Kimmy," Stephanie added. "Jimmy, I really think that one of the kids took it... they _were_ home alone today. What if one of them invited someone over or something?"

Stephanie didn't want it to be true, but the more she thought about it, the more she figured that it was. She couldn't stomach the thought of one of the kids _having sex_. These weren't even her own kids, but she was starting to realize how scary it was to take care of kids, fearing that they did something bad. She could only imagine how scary it must have been for her father, Jesse, and Joey to raise them.

Stephanie wanted so badly to be the "cool aunt," but she couldn't be cool about _this_. She was all about having fun and talking to the kids about dating, but sex was a whole different story.

"I need to talk to Jackson and Ramona about this," Stephanie sighed. "I'm sorry, Jimmy... I just can't get in the mood right now after this."

Jimmy nodded his head, putting his arm around Stephanie's shoulders.

"Hey, I get it... they're practically like your kids," he said. "Plus, we all know that DJ wouldn't be able to handle it if Jackson had... you know."

"I can't handle it, either. I can only imagine how much this would affect _her_ ," she frowned.

Sympathetically, Jimmy pulled her closer so that her head was resting on his shoulder. He placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Maybe there's another explanation, Steph. Don't worry just yet," he tried.

"Yeah, I know I don't know anything _for sure_ , but I... I just have a bad feeling about this, you know? Like something's wrong?" she told him.

"Well, I'm here for you," he assured her. "Why don't you try to get some sleep tonight at least?"

* * *

Yawning, Jackson walked down the stairs into the kitchen, where his mother was already up and ready, making pancakes on the stove. She seemed so perky and happy that it reminded Jackson of how much he would break his mother's heart if he ever told her the truth, or just in general if she found out the truth.

"Morning, buddy!" DJ exclaimed, turning to her son. "I'm making pancakes! Sit down!"

He nodded his head, turning to the kitchen table. His eyes went wide when he saw Ramona sitting there, already eating some pancakes. He didn't know why he was so surprised to see her there... he knew she lived in this house, too. It was just that he hadn't realized how weird it was going to be between them now that last night happened. However, he did know that he couldn't make a scene, or things would get much worse. So, he simply sat down at the table across from her.

"Morning," he greeted her quietly.

"Morning..." she unenthusiastically returned.

He glanced at her face, seeing worry in her eyes. He figured that she was just as freaked out about _her_ mother figuring it out. Jackson knew that Kimmy and Ramona had a really close mother-daughter relationship. They always told each other everything, but he figured that this _wasn't_ something that she was ready to tell her mother.

"Wow, you two are real gloomy this morning," DJ pointed out. "What's going on?"

Jackson bit his lip, "I dunno... I'm kinda tired."

"Well, maybe because you stayed up a little too late, honey," she laughed, shaking her head. "You know, when we got home, Jackson was still awake! Sleep a little earlier, and maybe you won't be so tired in the morning."

"Yeah, I slept kinda late, too, so I'm also pretty tired," Ramona added.

DJ smiled, "Maybe we'll make you all go to bed the same time as Tommy from now on, huh?"

"No way!" Jackson tried to be more upbeat, not wanting his mother to keep questioning them. "C'mon, Mom... I'm gonna be going to college soon. Don't you think I'm old enough to pick my own bedtime?"

DJ shrugged, "Well, as long as you're living here, you've gotta listen to what I say, don't you? And besides, you have to get _in_ to college before you can say you're _going_ to college soon."

Ramona laughed, "Good one!"

DJ smiled proudly, "I try."

Jackson glared at his mother, shaking his head. DJ chuckled before coming over to him with his plate of pancakes. Ramona glanced over at Jackson before sliding the bottle of maple syrup toward him.

"Thanks," he said quietly, scared to turn to her.

As he was drizzling maple syrup on to his pancakes, Stephanie and Jimmy walked up together from the basement.

"Morning, guys!" DJ exclaimed. "I'm making pancakes! Want some?"

"Oh, you bet I do!" Jimmy exclaimed back, clapping his hands together excitedly before sitting down at the kitchen table.

Meanwhile, Stephanie was a little more distracted. She sat down at the table, too, but glanced back and forth between Jackson and Ramona, wondering if it was possible that one of these kids actually did what she thought they did. She was really hoping for another explanation, but was finding it hard to believe that there was one.

"Steph, you okay?" DJ asked as she continued to make the pancakes.

"Yeah," Stephanie nodded her head. "I guess I'm just... tired."

DJ arched her eyebrows, "Hmm... everyone seems to be really tired today."

"Well, last night _was_ a pretty crazy night, wasn't it?" Jimmy wiggled his eyebrows, looking at both DJ and Stephanie.

Ramona and Jackson made disgusted faces.

"I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but I don't really wanna know, _especially_ since my parents were probably involved in it," Ramona shuddered.

"What about you guys?" Stephanie asked, deciding to vaguely search for an answer. "Was your night _crazy_?"

Jackson and Ramona glanced at each other, but quickly looked away. They both shook their heads. Jimmy eyed Stephanie, getting an idea of what she was trying to do. Although, he didn't really think that breakfast time was the best time to start the interrogation... but that was just him, and he hated all confrontation in general, so he was a bit biased.

"Nah, it was... uneventful," Jackson shrugged his shoulders.

"What'd you do all night? I'd think you had a lot of fun with the parents gone, huh?" Stephanie tried harder.

Jackson shook his head again, "Nope. Just did the usual, then got Tommy to bed with Ramona."

"Right," Stephanie nodded her head with a look of disbelief.

"Steph," Jimmy whispered. "Do you really think that now is the best time to be doing this?"

"Maybe not, but it's been bothering me all night, and I don't exactly know how to confront them about this... so being vague and untimely is kind of my best option at the moment," Stephanie whispered back.

"What in the world are you two whispering about?" DJ laughed as she brought a plate of pancakes over to serve Jimmy.

"Oh... nothing you'd wanna know about," Stephanie tried to play it off coolly.

"Of _course_ ," DJ laughed again. "Man, I don't know how the two of you do it... you've been together for so long, but somehow, you _still_ manage to keep it fun and sexy."

"Well, between you, me, and Michelle, I was always the most fun one," Stephanie joked.

"Ha-ha," DJ rolled her eyes. "But you know what? Sexy whispering around the kids is inappropriate, don't you think?"

Stephanie nodded her head, "Yeah, probably. They are just _kids_ , after all."

Jackson and Ramona both got even more nervous.

"I mean, we're not _kids_ ," Ramona tried. "We're pretty old now, aren't we? Jackson and I have both had the sex talk, we know what you guys are talking about."

Stephanie raised her eyebrows. She glanced over at Jimmy, trying to communicate her suspicions. Ramona seemed awfully defensive when it came to the conversation of sex and growing up right now, which made Stephanie really start to think that she was the culprit.

* * *

"Did you _hear_ Ramona at breakfast!?" Stephanie cried. "Jimmy, it _has_ to be her. It makes more sense, anyway. Jackson's grown up a lot since I first moved in, but I really don't think he's at _that_ level yet. Ramona, however? She's a very pretty girl and I wouldn't be surprised if some sleazy guy took advantage of her while we were gone last night!"

Jimmy's eyes went wide, "Oh no... Kimmy would be crushed if it's true."

"I know," Stephanie sighed. "I have to talk to Ramona about this. I mean, what if something went wrong? What if she got pregnant?"

Jimmy grinned, "Off topic, but you are _so_ adorable when you get all motherly and protective!"

Stephanie smiled back, but quickly regained her focus, frowning. " _Not_ the point!"

"Hey, hey, relax," Jimmy told her. "Nothing is confirmed yet. You have to talk to Ramona before you come to any conclusions."

"I know," she sighed. "This whole thing is freaking me out. Couldn't they have waited until... college?"

"Look, even if it's true, it's not the end of the world, Steph," Jimmy reasoned. "We all think of them as little kids, but they're almost adults, and they're going to make a lot of decisions that we don't like."

"You're right," she nodded her head. "They're growing up so fast, and I guess it's hard for me to see that because I still see them as little kids. But I still need to talk to her about this. If it's true, she probably needs somebody to be there for her. What if she's freaked out about it but thinks she has nobody to come to? She knows Kimmy would freak out, so she probably thinks she has nobody. I want to be there for her... or Jackson..."

"That's good," Jimmy smiled. "And hey, if you need somebody to be there with you when you talk to them, I'm here..."

Stephanie tilted her head to the side, smiling in appreciation. She touched Jimmy's arm, rubbing it up and down, grateful for his kindness.

"Aww, Jimmy, that's so sweet," she gushed. "But you don't need to do that. I think this is something that I should handle alone."

" _Whew_!" Jimmy sighed in relief. "Thank _God_. You know I _really_ hate confrontation, so I was hoping so bad that you would say that you didn't need me to be there with you."

Stephanie chuckled, "Well, thanks for offering, I guess?"

"You're welcome!"

She rolled her eyes playfully before pecking his lips.


	3. Secrets Never Last

CHAPTER 3: SECRETS NEVER LAST

"This is _highly_ unusual," Max commented with arched eyebrows. He folded his arms, "Jackson Fuller not being annoying and talkative? It feels like you're giving me the silent treatment and we're not even in a fight right now!"

Jackson raised his eyebrows, "Maybe I realized that I'm too mature for jokes."

Max rolled his eyes, "You literally stole my clothes and my towel while I was in the shower _just_ last week. Don't tell me you've grown up within the span of one week."

"Yeah, well, maybe I _did_ grow up," Jackson said. "I'm almost an adult, Max! I don't have time for jokes anymore. There are bigger problems... bigger things to worry about."

Max looked at his brother in disbelief.

"I don't believe you grew up. And if you're trying to, it's not gonna last for much longer... so, I'll give it about three days before you go back to your usual self," Max scoffed. "And you've got bigger things to worry about? The only thing you care about more than annoying me is _girls_ , so who is she?"

"There's no _girl_ ," Jackson hissed. "You're crazy. I have homework to do, so I'm gonna go do that."

Max laughed, still in disbelief.

"The only thing weirder than you not trying to annoy me lately is you doing homework on a Saturday!"

"Well, I wanna keep my grades up so that colleges don't rescind my acceptances."

He laughed again, "You have to get _in_ to college before you can get rescinded, you know."

Jackson glared at his brother, "Well, you know what? I can't get any homework done in this hostile environment, so I'm gonna go find some other place to work. Thanks a lot, Max."

"Whatever," Max shrugged his shoulders. "I know this charade won't last very long."

Jackson got up from his bed, leaving the bedroom he _still_ shared with his little brother. He shut the door behind him when he stepped outside, not wanting Max to see where he was going: Ramona's bedroom. Slowly, he turned the door knob and stepped inside. Ramona's head shot up from her computer, startled to see him standing there.

"Jackson?" her eyes widened. "W-what do you want?"

He sighed, shutting the door behind him.

"We can't... _not_ talk about it, right?" he asked, swallowing hard. "What happened between us? It's... it's been killing me, and I just thought that we should talk about it already."

" _Shh_!" she cried. "Quiet down! Do you want the whole house to hear about it? Because I don't." She bit her lip, "Besides... what's there even to talk about? It happened... we can't change that now."

"Well, I don't know if I'd _want_ to change that, even if I could," he admitted. "Look Ramona, I know it was weird and things are awkward now, but... I don't want them to be that way. It may have been weird timing, but that's not the point. The point is that... I've _wanted_ that for a really, really long time."

"Jackson, I don't know if I'm ready to have this conversation!" she cried quietly. She sighed, "I think... that what happened between us... might have been a really big mistake."

He was surprised. "A mistake? I don't think it was a _mistake_."

"That was both of our first times... Were we ready for that to happen?" she asked. "And aside from that, it's been eating me up that I'm keeping this from my mom!"

"Well... do you wanna tell her?" he asked.

"Of course I don't _want_ to tell her. But I feel like I should," she confessed. "We're supposed to tell each other everything, but I don't know how she's going to react to the fact that her 'little girl isn't so little anymore.' I just... I don't want to disappoint her. Or my dad."

Jackson stared at her, wishing there was something he could say to make things better for her. Even he was distraught because of the feelings he had for her and the fact that he was keeping this secret from his mom... He knew that she was torn up inside, too. And maybe this wasn't the right time to be discussing feelings or what it meant when they had all of this other stuff on their plates.

Just then, the door to Ramona's room opened again. Jackson moved away, giving the person entering some space. Both of them turned to look at who was entering: Stephanie.

"Hey, Ramona," Stephanie said once she was inside. She turned her head and saw Jackson standing there, too. "...and hey, Jackson."

"H-hey, Aunt Stephanie!" he greeted nervously. "I was just on my way out... to, uh... to do some of my homework."

She laughed, " _You're_ doing homework? On a _Saturday_? That's a first."

He glared at her, "Don't act so surprised that I'm upping my academic game! I'm gonna be a college student soon. And don't you dare say that we don't know if I'm gonna be a college student soon because we don't know if I've gotten into any colleges yet. I've heard this joke too many times now."

"I was gonna say it. You got me there," she laughed. "I wanted to talk to Ramona."

"All right. Well, I'm outta here," Jackson grinned awkwardly before backing out of the bedroom.

Stephanie shut the door once Jackson left and turned to Ramona.

"Is everything okay?" Ramona asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Relatively," Stephanie replied, slowly approaching the bed. She sat down. "I know you don't want to have this talk, but I think that it's important that you have somebody to turn to if you need to talk..."

"What?" Ramona said in shock.

"We need to talk about sex," Stephanie dropped the bomb. Ramona's eyes went wide. "Look, I know that either you or Jackson had sex that night we went out... or at least were _thinking_ about having sex. And after thinking about it for a while, I thought I'd ask you first because it seems more likely... Trust me, I hate having serious talks like this just as much as you do, but it's important that we have them anyway. I just don't want you to think that you have nobody to talk to... because you _do_ have someone to talk to. I'm here."

"Oh God..." Ramona swallowed hard.

"Hey, relax," Stephanie squeezed her shoulder. "I'm not here to yell at you or interrogate you. I just want to talk."

"This is so _embarrassing_ ," she sighed.

"I know it feels that way, but it really isn't," Stephanie assured her. "You really can talk to me, Ramona."

"You're not gonna like... tell my mom, are you?" she asked.

"Of course not," Stephanie promised. "Remember when you got your first hickey? I didn't tell your mom about that. I'm just here to help you and to talk to you about this if you need support or have questions, although I do think that you should talk to your mom about this eventually."

"I can't tell my mom about this!" Ramona cried. "Look, we've had the sex talk before... but that was just because it was necessary for the _future_ and because I was gonna learn about it in sex ed anyway. I don't think my mom was expecting anything she talked about to apply _now_. I can tell her about a lot of things, but this just isn't one of those things."

"So, it's true?" Stephanie asked. "You had your first time?"

Ramona sighed, confessing, "Yeah, I did."

"Are you okay?" Stephanie asked.

"I'm... fine, I guess," she shrugged her shoulders.

"Are you... regretting it, or...?"

She shrugged her shoulders again, "I don't really know. I mean, it's not like I regret... _it_. I just regret everything after it. Like... this guilt I feel, like I wasn't supposed to do that."

Stephanie shook her head, "Ramona, sex definitely isn't a bad thing, okay? It's only a bad thing if you don't want to do it. You should never do it unless _you_ want to and _you_ feel comfortable doing it. But you shouldn't feel like a bad person if you liked it."

Ramona sighed, staring at the floor. It was a lot less weird to talk with Stephanie about these things because she felt more like a _friend_ than an adult. But, of course, she was still an adult, so it was still weird. It was just a lot easier talking to her than her own mom.

"Ramona, this doesn't need to be awkward," Stephanie coaxed. "I just want to make sure you have someone to talk to, and that you're being safe about all of this." She raised her eyebrows, "So, is this something you're planning on doing again? Was it with a boyfriend?"

She shook her head, "I don't know, okay? I really don't. But I do know that he isn't a boyfriend..."

"That's totally fine," Stephanie nodded her head. "You aren't entitled to date anyone you have sex with. He didn't pressure you, did he?"

"God, no," Ramona shook her head quickly. "He didn't pressure me at all. In fact, I think I kinda initiated it..."

"Oh, wow," Stephanie nodded again. "Look, Ramona, you might think you're really old and ready to do anything, but you _are_ still young. You don't need to rush growing up. You're only seventeen! You've got your whole life ahead of you, so there's no reason to rush things. But that being said, you _are_ growing up, and I know I can't stop you from doing things you want to do. So, I'd rather have you be safe if you're going to be having sex."

Ramona smiled, "Thank you..."

Stephanie smiled back, "You can talk to me any time, okay?"

"Okay," Ramona said. "But I still don't think I'm ready to talk to my mom about this."

"Okay," Stephanie said. "That's not a decision for me to make. I just want you to have _someone_ to talk to." She continued, "Do you need anything now? I mean, you don't, like... you don't think you could be pregnant or anything, right?"

"I don't think so," she shook her head. "We used... you know."

"Yeah, I know," Stephanie chuckled. "You guys kinda took it from my room. But just because you used protection doesn't mean it worked. Sometimes, things happen, even if unlikely. If you need a test or something... I can help you with that."

"I don't think I do, but I'll talk to you if I start to," Ramona smiled. "Thank you so much for being here for me."

"Of course," Stephanie reached over and squeezed Ramona's hands. "But before I go... is this guy anybody important to you?"

Ramona bit her lip, "Maybe? We haven't really had the chance to talk yet... well, at least I wasn't _ready_ to talk when he wanted to talk, but I think that I feel more comfortable talking about it now... so, I'm working on it. We'll see where things go, I guess."

Stephanie nodded her head, "Well, I'm also here if you wanna talk about your boy troubles, 'cause trust me... I've had my fair share."

"Yeah, maybe... but you've got Jimmy now," Ramona sighed. "You're so lucky."

"To be fair, I certainly hadn't found anyone like Jimmy at your age," Stephanie chuckled. "It took me a long time to get to where I am now, but I'm here. I'm with someone I love a lot. And it may not seem possible for you right now, but you're gonna get there someday. For all you know, maybe _this_ guy's the one, huh? Look at DJ and Steve!"

Ramona's heart raced a little bit. It was so scary to think about the possibility of _ending up_ with Jackson Fuller. It didn't even seem possible, to be honest. Right now, they were nothing but an awkward mess with some feelings attached. Ramona didn't know if that was going to change over the next few months, but she did know that this wasn't going to be an easy journey. Even if things got better, they would be going to college soon, so...

"Uh, that's..." she bit her lip.

"Sorry," Stephanie apologized, laughing quietly. "I'll go now. But if you need anything at all, you know where to find me, Ramona."

"Yeah," Ramona smiled gratefully as Stephanie got off of her bed and left her bedroom.

Part of Ramona wished she had told Stephanie that the guy was Jackson, but part of her also wasn't ready to have _that_ conversation with any adult, not even Stephanie. First, maybe she needed to figure out whatever the hell was going on between her and Jackson. She really was glad to have talked to Stephanie about everything, because now she realized that it was important to talk about what happened with Jackson. Before, she was denying it and trying to get him to go away. Of course, she still felt bad because she hadn't talked to her mom about this, but she would get there eventually... hopefully. Just not yet.

But she wasn't sure that this conversation with Jackson was supposed to wait.

She was going to go look for Jackson in order to talk to him, but just then, her phone buzzed. It was, coincidentally, a text from Jackson.

Jackson: _hey what did you and my aunt stephanie talk about?_

Ramona: _awkward stuff lol... come to my room?_

In less than a minute, Jackson came to her room. He opened the door, stepped inside, then shut it.

"What's up?" he bit his lip.

"Hey," she greeted, trying to be less awkward. She was trying really hard to not be awkward around the subject of sex. Talking with Stephanie helped her break down some of that awkwardness, but it was still there. It was going to be a process. And if she was unable to talk about it, she thought that maybe she shouldn't be having it.

"So, what'd you guys talk about?" he asked.

"She... kinda figured out somebody went into her room and took... you know," Ramona glanced at Jackson.

His eyes widened, "No way! She came in here to talk to you about _that_? I swear, I didn't even think she'd notice..."

"I know, Jackson. Don't worry about it," she said.

"Don't worry about it?" he raised his eyebrows. "How can I not worry about it? She's my aunt and she knows? Was she mad? What did she have to say? Did you tell her everything?"

"Jackson!" she stopped him from asking anymore questions. "Relax, okay? Just sit down and we'll talk about everything."

"Okay," he nodded his head, walking to her bed. He sat down next to her. It was a little bit weird, since what happened the last time he was on her bed, but he figured nothing was going to happen this time. They had too much to discuss. "I'm trying to be calm. What's up?"

"All right. First of all, she wasn't mad at all," Ramona assured him. "In fact, she was really cool about it and really helpful. Honestly, I think she gets this stuff. She's been through all of this before. She just wanted me to have somebody to talk with."

"That's good," Jackson nodded his head. "And... what'd you tell her?"

"If you're asking if I told her that it was with you, then... the answer is no, I didn't tell her that," she replied. "I didn't really give her any info on who it was with."

"Whew!" he sighed in relief. "Thank God... She'd probably tell my mom, and things would get out of hand..."

"Maybe not," she shrugged her shoulders. "She promised me that she wouldn't tell my mom anything. She just encouraged me to tell her myself when I'm ready to do it. I know she's your mom's sister, but I think she's not one to out us. She just likes to make us learn to do the 'right thing' ourselves." She then turned her head to Jackson and rolled her eyes, "But I'm glad to see how selfless you are..."

Jackson bit her lip, "Wait, I'm sorry... that's not... I know that was a stupid thing to say, okay? This whole thing is just really scary for me. I know it looks like I only care about myself, but I promise you that's not the case."

"I know it isn't," she smiled.

He swallowed hard, "Look, I care about you a lot, Ramona. I know you said that what happened between us was probably a mistake, but I don't feel that way. I feel bad because of our parents, but I don't regret anything more than the timing. Maybe it was just... sucky 'cause it happened before we really had a chance to talk about what I told you that night... and I meant all of that. I meant it when I told you that I like you."

Ramona was stunned. She wasn't exactly sure how, but Jackson Fuller really turned into a great guy. Or, at least, he knew how to say the right thing... because Ramona was swooning when she heard the way he was talking to her.

"You really mean all of that, Jackson?" she asked.

"Are you crazy?" he laughed. "Of course I mean it. I'd be crazy _not_ to mean it."

"I... just... I don't know if I was ready to do what we did that day," she confessed. "I think I was a bit impulsive that night... I feel like I should've thought through my decisions before. It's not that I didn't like it, I just think that I don't think that it should be happening again any time soon."

"Okay," he smiled weakly. "That's okay."

Jackson tried to be understanding. And he _did_ understand where she was coming from, but he couldn't say that it didn't hurt him anyway. He had just practically poured his entire heart out to her, telling her how he felt about her for the _second_ time in the past few days. He wished that she would've said that she liked him back, or had given him any hope, but he knew he would get through it. This certainly wouldn't be the first time that he had been turned down by a girl.

"You're a good guy, Jackson," Ramona told him. "And I'm really glad to have you in my life. I just... I don't want to lose you. You're one of the closest people in my life, and I'd feel so terrible if we ruined that. You're important to me."

"You're important to me, too, Ramona," he said. "I'm glad that we had that talk. I'll, uh... I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah," she nodded her head. "Talk to you later."


End file.
